Apparatus for treating flour or the like.



V C. HERENDEEN.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOUR OR THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 16.1914.

1,234,663. I Patented July 24, 1917.

lwumwkov C/zarZeJ .Hi'/Zd86 IL.

CHARLES HERENDEEN, or CHICAGO, iLLINCIs.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOUR OR THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. April 16, 1914. Serial No. 832,310.

To all whom it may concern: 7 I

Be it known that 1, CHARLES I-IEnnNDnnN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for TreatingFlour or the like, of which the following is a specification; Y

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machinesfor treating flour or the like, and the object of my invention is toprovide a machine by means of which the starch cells in the flour can beopened up, and where wheat flour is being treated thi can be effectedwithout destroying the gluten thereof. v

ith these and other objects in viewmy invention consist-s in a means forfeeding flour past a steam supply and causing the steam to impinge uponthe moving flour and then drying the flour.

My invention further consists in certain constructions, combinations andarrangements of parts, the preferred form of which will be firstdescribed in connection with the accompanying drawing and then theinvention particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing wherein the same part is designated by the samereference numeral wherever it occurs,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine by which my invention may becarried out;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section showing the flour feeding meansand the steam supply and,

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3, 3 of Fig. 2 and looking in thedirection of the arrow.

5 designates any ordinary or desired form of flour or meal drier, andsince the particular construction of this drier forms no part of myinvention I have not deemed it necessary to show or describe the detailsof construction, or the particular operation of any specific form ofsuch drier.

I have shown mounted on the top of this drier a casing 6, and 7 is ashaft extending longitudinally of the casing and journaled in the endsthereof, the shaft carrying a spiral, flight or conveyer 8, and outsidethe casing at one end thereof a pulley 9, by which the shaft may bedriven. The bottom of the casing 6 is shown on the inside as beingformed into a curved section 10 to conform to the conveyer.

Patented July 24 191 *7.

The diameter of. the spiral is such that there is preferably a clearancebetween the periphery of the spiral and the casing, said clearance beingpreferably approximately about three quarters of an inch. 11 designatesa hopper through which the flour to' be treated is fed into the casingat one end thereof, and 12 a delivery spout adjacent the opposite endthereof from which the flour falls into the drier 5, the direction ofrotation of the spiral being such as to cause the flour to be fed fromthe end of the casing from which the I charges. The actionof the spiralconveyer in additionvto feeding the flour along also acts to stir thesame during the feeding operation, and to pile it up on one side of thecasing at the bottom portion. In the form shown, wherein the conveyer issupposed to rotate clockwise when viewed as in Fig. 3'

the flour will pile up on thelefthandsid of the casing as viewed in thisfigure. In the upper part of the casing on the side on which the flouris piled up I provide a steam supply adapted to direct steam on to thepiledup mass of flour as it is passing through the casing under theaction of the In the form shown this steam conveyer. supply consists ofa supply pipe 13 connected to a pair of pipes 14, each of which has arow of perforations 15, the pipes extending parallel to the shaft of theconveyer, with their perforations arranged to shoot steam into the spacebetween the side of the casing and the conveyer, and on to the piled upmass of flour being fed through the casing. As shown these pipes do notextend the full length of the casing, but there is a space in the centerwhere flour will not be subjected to the action of steam. The result ofthis arrangement is that the flour when it first enters the casing istreated with steam and then it is given a rest and is then again treatedwith steam until it passes into the drier. 16 designates a pipeconnected to the central portion of the casing and extending to anysuitable exhaust device whereby the steam is removed from the casing.

In the operation of this machine flour is fed into the casing throughthe hopper 11, in a continuous stream, and it is picked up by theconveyer and carried forward. The action of the spiral conveyer is notonly to feed the flour forward but to keep the mass agitated, so thatall portions of the flour delivery spout I diswill be, during itspassage through the easing, subjected to the action of steam. The flourwhen it reaches the opposite end of the casing passes out through thespout 12 into the drier 5, where it is immediately dried. I find that bythis means of treating flour starch cells are opened up, and that intreating flour, such as wheat flour, this is effected without destroyingor injuring the gluten contained therein.

I am aware that considerable Variation is possible in the details ofconstruction herein shown and described, without departing from thespirit of my invention, and I do not intend to limit myself thereto,except as pointed out in the following claims, in which it is myintention to claim all the novelty inherent in the structure shown anddescribed as broadly as the state of the artwill permit.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: a a

1. In a machine for treating flour or the like the combination with acasing, of a spiral conveyer extending longitudinally of the casingadapted to convey flour in a mass through the casing, a pair of steampipes one located adjacent each end of the casing with an intermediatespace between them, said steam pipes being provided with perforations onone side thereof whereby as the flour is fed through the casing it isfirst struck by the steam then given a rest while passing through theportion of the casing intermediate the steam pipes and then again struckby steam, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a machine for treating flour or the like the combination with acasing, of a spiral conveyor extending longitudinally of the casingandhaving clearance between the periphery of the spiral and the casingwhereby the spiral is rotated in one direction and the flour fed throughthe casing is piled up on one side, and a steam pipe located on the sideof the casing against which the flour piles up, said steam pipe beingprovided with perforations to cause the steam to impinge upon the piledup flour.

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES HERENDEEN.

\Vitnesses R. R. STEPHENSON, LILLIAN PANKHURST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. 0.

